Netflix says technical glitch that torpedoed the 'Love is Blind' live reunion was from a bug accidentally introduced after Chris Rock's comedy special
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for Netflix
- Netflix co-CEO said a bug caused the technical glitch that hit the live "Love is Blind" reunion live special on Sunday.
- The show was eventually taped and made available from 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
- About 6.5 million viewers have watched the "Love Is Blind" special so far, Peters added on Tuesday.
Greg Peters, the co-CEO of streaming giant Netflix, said a technical bug torpedoed a highly-anticipated "live" reunion run of the hit TV show "Love is Blind" that was to air at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
"We're really sorry to have disappointed so many people," Peters said during Netflix's first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. "We didn't meet the standard that we expect from ourselves to serve our members."
The show was hit by a bug Netflix had accidentally introduced when it implemented changes to improve live-streaming performance after its first-ever live broadcast in March with its Chris Rock special, Peters explained.
He went on to assure investors the platform does have the infrastructure for a live broadcast. "We hate it when these things, but we'll learn from it and we'll get better. We do have the fundamental infrastructure that we need," Peters added.
The show was eventually taped and made available from 3 p.m. ET on Monday. About 6.5 million viewers have watched the "Love Is Blind" special so far, Peters added.
The snafu drew a slew of memes and reactions. Netflix called itself out on the glitch as well, tweeting a picture of a billboard saying: "We told you the love is blind reunion would be memorable." The tweet was viewed 1.4 million times since it was posted.
—Netflix (@netflix) April 18, 2023
The delay of the "Love is Blind" special angered fans who hit out at the streaming service for the mishap. The reality dating show features the experiences of singles who try to fall in love and get engaged — before meeting in person.
And while the show has been one of Netflix's most popular offerings ever, spawning four seasons so far — it was emotionally draining for some cast members who said they were stressed and exhausted by the filming schedule, Insider's Katie Warren reported on Tuesday.
Netflix reported $8.16 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2023, up from $7.87 billion a year earlier. It added 1.75 million streaming subscribers in the January to March quarter — short of analyst estimates of 2.06 million additions, per Refinitiv.
The streaming service plans to roll out its unpopular paid account sharing across households this quarter, it said in its letter to shareholders on Tuesday.
Netflix's shares closed 0.3% higher at $333.7 apiece on Tuesday. They were down 1.3% in pre-market trade at last check.